SINGAPORE: When asked to respond to netizens who often dismiss opposition parties in Singapore as “populist” or merely saying things to win votes, Ravi Philemon, Secretary-General of Red Dot United (RDU), didn’t flinch.
Instead, he offered a deeply personal and heartfelt reflection.
“We don’t believe in Depleting our reserves,” he began. “I can’t emphasize that enough—because this is a Singapore where my daughter and son live. This is where my grandchildren will grow up. It’s where they’ll raise their own families long after I’m gone.”
It’s a vision anchored in responsibility, not rhetoric. Far from making empty promises, Ravi stressed that RDU’s proposals are rooted in sound policy that can be made operational if Singapore is willing to make bold but necessary changes.
“It’s about the class divide—not populism”
In particular, he pointed to Singapore’s tax structure, which he feels disproportionately benefits the ultra-wealthy, the elites, and the well-connected, while leaving ordinary Singaporeans behind.
“Our current policies favour the billionaire class,” he explained. “That’s not sustainable, and I cannot stress this enough—inequality is the real fault line we are fighting.”
He carefully clarified that race, language, and religion remain important considerations in Singapore’s social fabric but argued that these issues have been—and can continue to be—managed across generations.
“We’ve navigated those lines before, and we’ll continue to do so, But the bigger fault line now is the class divide. The high SES, the low SES, and the growing distance between them. That’s the gap we urgently need to address.”
At the heart of his answer was a clear rebuttal to accusations of populism: This was not about empty slogans or emotional appeals. It’s about legacy. It’s about what kind of Singapore we want to leave behind.
“Of course, I don’t want our national reserves—our umbrella for a rainy day—to become dysfunctional,” he said. “We are a responsible political party. The proposals we put forward in our manifesto? They are actionable.”
As the noise builds up toward GE2025, it’s easy to dismiss alternative voices as populist or impractical, but if Ravi Philemon’s words are any indication, RDU isn’t chasing applause—they’re chasing answers.
Stay tuned to The Independent for more deep dives into party manifestos, candidate spotlights, and the stories behind the slogans—because Singapore deserves more than just headlines. It deserves clarity.